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Dr. Melanie McDowall is a researcher with the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide. Her specific research area is assisted reproduction technologies including IVF, IVM, ways of improving egg quality by understanding the basic biology behind egg and embryo development, and improving the ability to select the “healthiest embryos”. With a focus on oocytes (eggs) and early embryo development, her area of study is focused on the period leading up to ovulation as well as the period of time before implantation happens. In today’s podcast, we will be talking about how aging impacts fertility and the important role that reproductive technologies play in this process.
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Topics discussed in this episode
- The basic biology behind conception and pregnancy. What happens when the sperm meets the egg and how it grows into a baby
- The role of DNA, chromosomes, and genes in the process of conception
- We discuss how women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, and how the number and quality of these eggs begins to decline dramatically from the time a woman reaches her early 30s to the time she reaches her mid-40s
- At what point are women at their peak fertility? And at what age is our egg quality and quantity the highest?
- What is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)? And how is it different from Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) and In Vitro Maturation (IVM)?
- How does a woman’s age impact her egg quality, and how does the age of her oocytes (eggs) impact the chances of a successful IVF cycle that results in a live birth?
- The role that the birth control pill has played in the cultural shift towards an increase in women having children later in life
- The importance of understanding that fertility has a deadline, why it is important for women to be aware of this, and how we can incorporate this unfortunate reality into the plan for our lives
- The hereditary aspect of our fertility and why the best way to predict the deadline on our own fertility may be to find out when our mothers went through menopause
- The extent to which media coverage of celebrities having children at advanced maternal ages can be misleading, and how this can result in the tendency for us to over-estimate how fertile we are as we reach our late 30s, early 40s and beyond
- The important role that a man’s age plays in the health of his sperm, and in what ways advanced paternal age can contribute to an increased risk of genetic mutations among other issues
- We also discuss the process by which advanced maternal age contributes to an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities
Connect with Mel!
You can connect with Mel through and find more information about some of the work she has been doing at yourfertility.org.au, The University of Adelaide, and you can connect with her on Twitter
Resources mentioned
- Dr. Melanie McDowall | The University of Adelaide
- Your Fertility | yourfertility.org.au
- How Ageing Affects Women’s Fertility (video) | Dr. Melanie McDowall | yourfertility.org.au
- Mel McDowall | Google Scholar Profile
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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)
Could you talk/blog about ovulation tests? Sorry if you’ve done so and I’ve missed it! I’ve been using a period tracking app and ovulation tests to determine my fertile window as we try for our second child. This past month, I noticed cervical mucus about 2 days AFTER the positive ovulation test. I’m still nursing my 2 year old twice a day, and only got my period back about 5 months ago – perhaps my cycle isn’t regular yet (although I have settled into a fairly regular 29 days between periods)? Or could there be something else going on?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah! Were you able to confirm ovulation with your basal body temperature? In episode 5 of the podcast Allison and I briefly touched on ovulation predictor kits. The consensus was that they aren’t always 100% accurate. Without confirming your temperature shift it would be hard to tell what is happening. You have given me a great idea for a blog post, so i will definitely look into it further. If I noticed cervical mucus after the ovulation test I would still consider myself to be fertile. If you are trying to conceive, then the best thing to do is have sex on days when you see mucus! Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks! I haven’t been charting my temperature. We cosleep with our toddler and the idea of having 10 minutes, uninterrupted, to lay in bed with a thermometer every morning has been laughable 🙂 But now that we’re serious about having another baby, I guess I need to find a way!
Thanks so much for this podcast with Dr. McDowall. My partner and I are both over 40 and trying to have a child, and this addressed so many issues we have/are facing, including miscarriages due to fetal chromosomal abnormalities… I had listened to this podcast a few months ago, and remembered that I learned so much from it, so came back to it today, and have found it possibly more useful than any book on fertility or pregnancy that I have looked at. I took notes, cross-researched things that she talked about, and learned what aneuploidy is– thank you so much for this hugely helpful education that filled in so many of the blanks for me. It is true that knowing more about what is happening biologically is healing to the heart, and gives me hope going forward. Thank you!
Elaine, thank you so much for your comment. I’m so glad to hear that this episode helped you. Sending best wishes to you and your husband!
Age-related infertility problems have big prevalence. It’s actually increasing yet, needs to be well understood with appropriate awareness. The time that is right for child planning is actually ideal. Stick to it. Slight variation…fine.